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Are those your 3/4" plywood boards with the white numbers on them around the park? I have seen number 7 and number 4 in the last couple of days. I didn't disturb them. I assumed they were part of a herp study.
Great find. Everyone at Huntley Meadows is abuzz about this dragonfly. Thank you for adding it to Arthropods of Fairfax,Va
I believe that this is a Dolomedes triton. The color varies on this spider but the six spots on the abdomen are distinctive. Check bugguide.net for comparables.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/114139/bgi...
I began by looking back at Needham's "A Genealogic Study of Dragonfly Wing Venation" (1903) in order to figure out what I should be looking at as far as veins to determine the species. Then I turned to "Dragonflies of North America" by Needham and Westfall (1953) to find the Species. After looking at a few hundred wings, I determined that the Swamp Darner, Epiaeschna heros on page 286-287 was an exact match. Looking at the photos on bugguide.net confirmed the diagnosis.
Absolutely, Argia fumipennis violacea. The humeral stripe with the fork and the triangular black markings on the side of the abdomen and the entirely black segment seven are indicators of the species.
This is too awesome. It looks like a Smooth earth snake - Virginia valeriae. They hang out in decaying logs. Every one that I have seen has actually been in or under a log when I found it.
Check out http://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/virval.ht...
I believe that this is a female. It was located just off the main entrance road at Huntley meadows to the right as you come into the park right before reaching the parking lot.
Very cool. This is a great spot.
Thank you Ashley for the ID.
Looks like a teneral female. One wing looks to be malformed during emergence. A dragonfly can fly with only 3 wings intact. Good luck little dragonfly.